Glass working apparatus



` Sept. 22 R. A.` HINKLEY Erm.`

@Mss WORKING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet l lFiled Feb. '28, 195e m m E ,T L www# Vn 4 MMM@ Q ev Am YM d n w Km0 Y B ||.V1|.|||||| ,IIIIIIIIEIIIIIIIIIII ATTORNEYS.

R.4A. H'INKLEY ETAL 'Fuga Feb. 2a, 1958 3 sheets-sheet 2v,

INVNTORS cants novel method Parenteel sept. zz. 1942 cLAss wonmc ArrAnA'rUs my A. Hinkley ma Edmund n. weueeh, coming,

Y., aesignors to .Corning Glass Works,

Corning; N. Y., a corporation of New York Appueanbn February 2s, 193s, serial No. 193,149

The present invention relates to press or base assemblies for sealed containers suchas electron discharge devices and to methods of and 'apparatus for fabricating improved forms of such articles.

lA type of press or base assembly which has,

proven desirable for use in certain types of electron discharge tubes comprises a vitreous press provided with a central opening communicating with an exhaust tube perpendicular to and hermetically sealed to the press. Metallic elements serving asleading-in wires are embedded in the press around the exhaust tube and the edge of the press is hermetically sealed to the tube envelope, the electrode assembly being supported inside the envelope on the leading-in wires extending thru the press. Prior assemblies of this general form, with which applicants are familiar, comprise at presses or bases and in order to keep the circular row of leading-in wires safely spaced from the peripheral edge portion, which must later be fused to the tube body, their' diameter has to be made greater than desirable.

An object of the present invention is an improved form of article of the foregoing general character.

Another object is a new and novel method of fabricating tube base or press assemblies.

A still further object is a novel and simple' form of apparatus by means of which applimay be practiced commercially. l p

In accordance with the present invention the preformed press or base is made in the 4form of a shallow walled blankhaving an exhaust aperture thru the centerof its base surrounded by' apertures thru which the leading-inwires are.

passed, leaving the remotely disposed -top of the wall for sealing to the tube proper which need be only ofslightly greater diameter than the row of leading-in wires.

A simple form of production apparatus oi th present invention embodies' among its features a rotating support ,capable of holding a circular row of leading-in wires in predetermined relation with one another together with a preformed press thru apertures of which such leading-in wires are threaded; of suitable burners for heating the press and leading-in wires to render the press plastic; of a press center pin or exhaust 'tube centering element adapted -to move axially w (cias-za)V e Y e i the axis of the support for holding a piece of exhaust tubing and adapted for axial movementto bring the end of such tubing down over the centering element into fusing relation with thek press; and of a pressinghead carried with the tube'collet and adapted to compress the plastic press. to effectively seal the lleading-in wires thereto.

The invention will be best understood by reference tothe following' description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: l

Fig. 1 is a plan view" of one form of apparatus embodying .the invention with certain parts 4omitted for the sake oi clearness; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1, but with certain parts omitted from Fig. 1 shown;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the upper half of v the apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2:

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, ofthe upper part of the assembly;

' Fig..5 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the rotating support and certain of the associated Y operating parts;

Fig. 5a is an enlarged plan view of theleadingin wire collet sleeves Fig. 5b is a sectional view taken online 5b-5b of Fig. 5a;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showing i an alternative form of leading-in wire collet construction; y

Fig. 7 isa side elevational view illustrating a fragment of tube base support 30 with a. set of leading-in wires assembled therein, a preformed press in sectional elevation about to be threaded over such wires, and an evacuation tube sus-l pended from a tube collet; and

Fig. 8 is a view of a completed base or press assembly as it appears justbefore being with- ,drawn from the collet.

The apparatus herein illustrated comprises a footed column Il supporting the various operating parts of the assembly whichI are, for the most part, carried by a head casting i2 bolted to a motor and head base I3 clamped'to the column.

The casting i2 has a lower horizontal run i4 having housings I5 and I6 formed therein to accommodate suitable bearings for a vertical drive shaft |'|.and for a quill shaft l'which at its lower end carries a gear 26 in mesh with a driving gear .28 (Fig. 4) carried on the lower end of thru the support to maintain an exhaust passage thru the press after it becomes plastic; of a rotating collet arranged above and concentricY to shaft I1. The run Il is also pierced to accommodate a burner supporting post 2l. The casting I2 also has an upper horizontal run 22 ccnby which the shaft is supported on the inner race of the upper one of a pair of suitable bearings 25. A sleeve I9 passes thru the bore of shaft I6 and has its extreme upper inner end in the form of a cam surface 36 cooperative with a similar surface 35' on the outer surface of an inner sleeve I9'. The inner of these sleeves is slotted to form a circular row of flexible ngers or collet elements 49 having grooves 49 and adapted to receive and yieldingly hold leading-in wires 68 (Fig. '1) against the inner surface of sleeve I9. The cooperating cam surfaces 35 and 36 of sleeves I9' and I9 are such that downward movement of sleeve I9' .with respect to I9 forces lingers 49 inward to free leading-in wires formerly seized between them and the sleeve I9. The distance of endwise movement of sleeve I9 with respect. to sleeve I8 is limited by a flange 26 traveling in a space 20' provided between the top of sleeve I8 and a base or press support 39 fixed to the top of the sleeve I8. This support. has apertures 29 therethru in register with thegrooves 49' in the respective ngers 49 and in the inner surface of sleeve I9. The extent of axial movement of sleeve I9 with-respect to I9' is limited by an operating space 31 between these sleeves, while a pin 43 passing thru sleeves I8 and thru slots and in the sidewalls of sleeves I9 and I9 prevents rotary movement of sleeves I9 and I9' with respect to support 30 which would' interfere with the proper introduction of leading-in wires in the respective collet grooves. The lower ends of sleeves I9 and I9' are threaded into collars 56. and 56' carried by `yoked levers 59 and 59' pivoted at 39 and to which are connected collet pull and collet release pedals 69 and 69 (Fig. 3) by suitable rods 19 and 19'.

The sleeves I9 and I9 and their associated operating pedals. are normally held in their uppermost position by similarly arranged springs only the springs 38 associated with pedal 69being visible.`

A pin aligning arm 3l is carried by shaft I1 and held in suspended position by a spring 32. This arm can be rotated clockwise until its end 3|' encounters4 guide bar 65 at which time its spacing element 34 isl in coaxial relation with support 30. This arm is employed to Vpressleading-in wires 68arranged in support 30, to a common depends well below the lower end of sleeve I9 and in a similar fashion to sleeve I 9' is carried 46 (Fig. 4), having an operating handle 46 by means of which the knock out shaft can be raised to lift a fabricated press or base assembly` 91 from support 30. Upward movement of shaft 4I is, however, limited by the pin 43 extending thru a slot in the wall of shaft 4I. A

A shaft 41, entering the bore of the knock out shaft 4I, at its upper end carries a centerpln 41' and at its lower end is connected to a hand operated lever 50 by means of which the center pin 41' can be readily raised following the proper heating of a vitreous press 90 to pierce and/or maintain an aperture 92 thru the center of the sleeve 55.

preparation for pressing of the glass about the.

leading-in wires 68 and for the fusion of an evacuating tube 11 to the press.

Any suitable form of heating apparatus may be employed. In the present disclosure (Fig. 2) a suitable form of burner 5I is mounted on a support 52 adapted to be mounted on and pivoted about'post 2| by means Ifofa handle 96 and being free for removal from y'the' support to enablean 10 attendant more freedom in directing the burner flames onto the work if found desirable.

The apparatus for handling an evacuating tube 11 to be sealed to the press and containing the n pressing head is carried by a gear case 53 located 15 intermediate the extensions I4 and 22 of head case can also be rotated thru a horizontal arc in order to facilitate the various steps of the fabricating operations as will be more fully set. forth hereinafter. The gear care 53 is normally held in its elevated position by a yoke 51 vlinked to a pedal shaft 58 connected with the pressing pedal 69 held in its upward position by` one of the springs 38. The end of case 53 adjacent the vertical run of support I2 has a tooth 62 abutting4 against a long guide bar 63 which limits clockwise rotation of the case to a position in -which a tube collet housing 64 therein is in coaxial relation with the press support 30. The

gear case is equipped with a handle 66 by means Y of which the case may be swung counterclockwise when Iin its uppermost position.- With the case Ain the position shown and the pedal 60 v lowered as is essential in a pressing operation a second guide bar 65 becomes effective' to denitely hold the case against rotary movement in 'a clockwise direction thereby insuring the retention of housing 64 in coaxialv alignment vwith head 30.

Free to rotate in the housing 64 is a vsleeve bearing 61. having a gear 80 fixed to its upper end. vProjected upward into the bore of bearing 61 is a pressing unit holder 10 held fixed to the bearing by a set screw 1I. Pressed upward into a bell 12 -of holder 1li-is a pressing unit .insert 15. Threaded into the upper section of the inner Wall of holder 19 is a tube collet 16. As will be evident a tube 11 to be fused to a press SII-may be introduced into the upper end of-this collet and projected down thru the bore of the pressing unit 15. This operation can conveniently take place while the collet and pressing assembly is Aout of alignment with the tube base support 30 during which time heating of a press and an assembly of leading in wires is taking place. A burner 18 carried by case 53 is directed ltoward '50 bell 12 in order to maintain it and the insert 15 in va collar 44 carried by a yoked knock out lever at the best operating temperature.

Rotation of the tube collet and pressing head assembly is effected-thru a drive gear 8l in mesh with gear and carried on the upper end of 'sleeve 55 is supplied by a motor 83 coupled to a worm 34 in mesh withv a suitable worm wheell5 carriedby shaft I'1.' thru a suitable clutch 86. 'I'his clutch is normally held disengaged by a L10I spring 81 associated with an. operating assembly including a bell crank 13, apedal shaft 14 and a suitable pedal 88.

' In one method of using the foregoing assembly leading in wires 68 are inserted in the apertures press open after the glass has become plastic 29 of the base orA press support l3II, between the Power for driving shaft I1 and its y spring linger Il and ysleeve Il c any doubtas to the tops ot the wires being even, arm 3l is rotated to bring element Il over them and lowered to bring'element ll into engagementl ,with the wires to even them up. A preformed press 99, preferably preheated. is then placed on the assembled leading-in wires which are'quit readily threaded thru apertures 9| in the press.

The clutch pedal is now depressed to elfect rotation of the press and pin assembly. With a press inplace and rotating, heat'is evenly applied over its entire surface until it becomes plastic after which pedal 69 is depressed causing sleeves I9 and I9' to be lowered in unison to drawthe leading-in wires downwardly, thereby drawing plastic glass surrounding such `wires down to aligned therebetween in grooves Il. It there is 4 :s porc nbyhoidihg the knock out sleeve u nightly elevated. This permits the glass upon becoming the inner surface of the press. Continuing the application of heat, lever 50 is lifted thereby forcing the centering pin 41' up thru a center aperture 92 in the press. While holding lever ill in its uppermost position the gear case handle 96 is seized and the gear case rotated clockwise until the tooth 62 thereon engages guide bar-63. The

case is then lowered by depression vof pedal 60 or burner toone side andthe pressing operation effected by further lowering the pressing-head'by means of pressing pedal 60. Thereis no appreciable pressure applied to the tube at this time, as 'the tube simply slides upward thru its collet 16.

The depth of the leading-in wiresockets in the `pressing unit insert I5 andthe extent of its downward movement are such, however, that the leading-in wires not only encounter the base of bell 12 but also force the collet sleeves I9 and i9' downward a slight distance against the tension of their springs 38 thereby positively insuring l that the top ends of the leading in wires are perof labor.

plastic to sag about the leading-in wires so as to insure obtaining effective sealing thereof at the inner surface of the press without making it necessary to pull vthe wires downward to producethis result. The' knock out shaft is released Just as the insert 1 5 is brought in contact with the press. The subsequent operations' are as already described.-

While in the present disclosure the single unit as illustrated is equipped with pedals and hand levers for effecting various operationsit should be understood that, where large production warrants it, applicant contemplates'arranging a `plurality of these units on a rotating turret in which case the various levers illustrated would be equipped with suitable rollers for actuation by a xed cam trackabout which they would rotate. In such case suitable equipment would be also provided for automatically fe'ding leading-in" wires successively to the respective units. With such an arrangement one or two operators can attend a plurality of yunits with great emciency What is claimed is:

1. im apparatus including a 011er inte which the respective leading-in mires of Va tube press assembly may 'be arranged in predetermined relation and a preformed apertured press Vthreaded over such wires, means for heating the press to plasticity, means for actuating the collet to seize and axially draw such wires and surrounding i plastic glass of the press downward .with respect to the/major mass of the press and means :for

mechanically forcing the glass into intimate conhead to rise to its uppermost position, and of v course if the sleeves i9 and I 9 have been moved' This leaves the entire assembly suspended by the evacuating tube in collet 16 and by swinging the gear case to one side withdrawal of the com-QV pleted assembly can beV readily effected.

In Fig. 6 is shown an alternative form of leading-in wire collet which may be substituted foi" for .the collet assembly comprising sleeves i9 and I9. In. the alternative `structure a single sleeve 98- has holes 99 drilled in the top thereof which serve as the leading-in 'wire'coliets and has its lower end threaded into collar 5l. The associated pedal 69 lin this form of construction merely 4serves as a convenient means of lowering the sleeve 99 to assist in passing the leading-in wires thru apertures `29 i into holes 99.

I'he method followed when a one-piece sleeve is employed differs to the extent that during the heating of the press and the sealing of the evacu-i ating tube thereto, the press is held o the suptact*j with such wires and to a ilnal desired form.

2. In a combined glass to glass and glass to metal sealing apparatus. a press head. an assembly adapted to receive a plurality of metallic elements and a body of glass perforated to receive such elements, means for heating the .body of glass and the metallic elements to the fusionv temperature of the glass, said assembly including means for seizing the respective metallic elements and for them and plastic glass surrounding and sticking to them downwardly for a limited distance, and means for lowering said head to press the glass to final form into intimate contact with such elements.

3. In a sealing apparatus, an assembly yieldably supporting an evacuating tube, a second assembly supporting a plurality of metallic'elements and a glass press having an exhaust aperture and also aperturesvthrough which the elements pass, means for heating the press to plasticity, means for maintaining the exhaustl aperture therein open after the yglass has become plastic. and means for movingsaid iirst assembly to bring the evacuating tube into contact with the peripheral edge of the exhaust aperture at a pressu're limited by the yieldability of'said first assembly and to force glass of the press into sealing relation with the metallic elements. y

evacuating tube, a second meanssupportingf a plurality of metallic elements and a glass press having a perforation, means for heating the press toplastlcity, means for maintaining the perforation intact after the glass has become plastic, apparatus for operating said second means to seize the respective metallic elements and to draw them downwardly Ai'or a limited distance, and

mechanism for moving said iirst means to bring 4., In a sealing apparatusr means supporting' an the zfusion of the peripheral edge of the press to the tube and to press glass of the press into intimate contact with such elements.

5. In a sealing apparatus, a rst glass pressingy unit holding a plurality of metallic lamp elements and a glass body in predetermined relation, a second glass-pressing unit, arranged coaxial with said rst unit holding a second glass body, means for heating the glass body held .by said rst unit toa plastic condition, and'means for moving said second unit relative to said first unit to effect fusion together of the glass Ibodies and to press glass of one of said bodies between said units into intimate contact with the metallic elements.

6. Apparatus which includes a collet holding a glass press with lead-in wires threaded through certain apertures of the press, means'for heating the press to plasticity, a pin to maintain one aperture of the press open after the press becomes plastic, a second collet holding an evacuating tube and having a pressing head associated therewith, and means to move one of said collcts reiaglass of an associated press having an exhaust laperture, means for heating the press to plas-v ticity, means for maintaining the exhaust aperture of the press after the press has become plastic, means for moving said` holder to bring an end of the tube into position [or fusion to glass surrounding the exhaust aperture and for thereafter moving said holder relative to'the tube to force glass of the press into intimate contact with the respective metallic elements.

8. In an assembly for sealing together lamp parts, a support `for the receipt of lead-in Wires and a glass press, a press head aligned over said support including a. chuck for the receipt of an evacuating tube, means; for heating a press to plasticity, and means for lowering said press head to bring an evacuating tube in sealing relation with a press and to eiect sealing of the press about lead-in wires associated therewith.

9. In an assembly for sealing together lamp parts, va support for the receipt of lead-,in wires and a glass press, a press head aligned over said support including a chuck for Vthe receipt of an evacuating tube. means for rotating said support and press head in unison, means for heating a press to plasticity as it is rotated, and means for lowering said press head to bring an evacuating tube intosealing relation with a press and to eiect sealing of the press about lead-in wires associated therewith.

10. In an assembly for sealing together lamp parts, a support for a glass press and for lead-in wires to be sealed into a press, a chuck aligned over said support for the receipt of an evacuating tube, a press head arranged intermediate said chuck and support, means to heat a press to plasticity, and means for lowering said chuck and head to bring an evacuatlng'tube into sealing relation with a press and to force the press into sealing relation with associated lead-in wires.

ll. In an assembly or sealing together lamp parts, a support for a glass press and for lead-in wires to be sealed into a press, a chuck aligned over said support for the receipt of an evacuating tube, a press head arranged intermediate said chuck and support, means to heat a press t0 plasticity, means associated with said support for i effecting a slight downward movement of lead-in wires relative to the plastic press and means for lowering said chuck and head to bring an evacuatingtube into sealingv relation with a press and to force the press into sealing relation with associated lead-in wires.

12. In an assembly for sealing lamp partstogether, an apertured support for a glass press also having apertures for the receipt of lead-in wires passing through the apertures in said support, means for rotating said support, means for heating a, press deposited on said support, and means associated with said support to grip and draw lead-in wires passing through apertures of the support and press downwardly relative to said support and to the major portion of the press.

RAY A. HINKLEY. EDMUND HfWELLECH. 

